Boron trifluoride has found wide use as a catalyst for various reactions and has been proposed as a catalyst for additional reactions. Such reactions include hydrocarbon transfers (alkylations, cracking, isomerizations, polymerizations) and reactions involving functional groups (dehydration of alcohols, cyanation of olefins, conversion of aniline to diphenylamine, conversion of methylol to 4-methoxy-2-methyl-1-butene, reaction of ammonia and acrolein to form pyridine and reaction of sodium acetate and acetylene to form vinyl acetate). A drawback of the use of boron trifluoride is that it decomposes during reaction, preventing reuse and contributing boron and fluoride to either the product or an effluent stream, necessitating extra purification or recovery.
While attempts have been made to fix boron trifluoride to a polymer or inorganic support, these attempts have not produced a reusable boron trifluoride catalyst system practical for the wide variety of catalytic uses. For many particular reactions, a cocatalyst is provided with boron trifluoride to cause or enhance catalytic activity. Such cocatalysts have not, however, been used to retain the boron and fluoride values.